LIVEHealthRIGHT 360 Training and Apprenticeship Program
There is a critical shortage of healthcare workers across disciplines in LA and throughout the U.S. Meanwhile, people living without housing and employment are languishing on our streets. These two pressing community needs drove the development of the HealthRIGHT 360 Training and Apprenticeship Program that provides valuable paid job training and work opportunities. The program recruits and trains people with lived experience and limited work history to be community health workers, behavioral health counselors, and mental health case managers.
What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?
Health Care Access
In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
County of Los Angeles
In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?
Pilot or new project, program, or initiative
What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?
A study by UCSF in 2018 predicted that the need for mental health therapists would exceed supply by almost 40% by 2028. This trend accelerated and worsened during the pandemic. The lack of access to care is felt most acutely by those who receive services through community mental health providers, including the homeless, severely mentally ill, those with co-occurring disorders, and lower income people of color. The Governor has made transforming the mental health system in California a priority. HealthRIGHT 360 is already developing innovative approaches like our Training and Apprenticeship Program to meet critical mental health and substance use disorder needs now and in the future. If nothing is done to fill the void by 2028, many people diagnosed with behavioral health conditions will struggle to get the treatment they need. To those of us who work on the front lines of healthcare access, the shortages are already here and the time to act is now.
Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.
The Training and Apprenticeship program will create a steady pipeline of skilled behavioral health workers and integrate the workers into the healthcare field improving access to care. Our program provides paid apprenticeships for people in healthcare support roles. The program is a concentrated learning/training opportunity developed for people with lived experience of homelessness, mental health challenges, and addiction. Community partners assist in program development and apprentice recruitment. Once trained, health workers serve as role models, inspiring others in their communities, and work within the context of a team-based approach to behavioral health services. The 5-month curriculum teaches apprentices healthcare systems such as electronic health records, and elements of case management, crisis de-escalation, trauma-informed care, and much more. The program provides firsthand job experience at HealthRIGHT 360 behavioral health programs and one-on-one mentors who offer guidance and support to the trainees. After completion of the program, apprentices will be assisted in job placement and securing certification as non-licensed alcohol/drug counselors. They will be eligible for permanent positions at HealthRIGHT 360 behavioral health outpatient and residential treatment programs located throughout Los Angeles County and elsewhere in the community. At the end of the grant period, twenty new healthcare workers will be job ready, and many placed in permanent positions.
Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) predicts "serious workforce shortages" in mental health and substance use disorder treatment in the next decade. LA County already faces an acute shortage of mental health workers, which has led to serious understaffing at clinics and other facilities at a time of rising demand. Filling these vacant spots has proven to be a major challenge. Our program addresses LA County's urgent need for an accessible, trained behavioral health workforce. Not only will the Training and Apprenticeship Program build a talent pipeline, expand community relationships and partnerships, and provide opportunities to those new in the field, but in addition, the program structure allows for growth and learning opportunities for existing mental health staff through mentoring, teaching, and assisting program participants, providing much needed leadership opportunities and improving retention.
What evidence do you have that this project, program, or initiative is or will be successful, and how will you define and measure success?
HealthRIGHT 360 completed the program's first year pilot in 2022-23. Five of 11 apprentices graduated and secured jobs. We gained insights about what worked and where to make changes. As a result, the program modified the curriculum and refined apprentice recruitment and screening procedures to reduce number of dropouts. Among the program's measurement tools are surveys/interviews with participants, mentors, and program supervisors and leaders to gain feedback about the effectiveness and relevance of the training curriculum, and readiness for entry into the workforce. Data is collected at program entry and exit. Results are used to modify and update programming/operations. Indicators of program impact include: Number of our graduates entering the field and hired as healthcare workers. Improved retention of current healthcare staff by providing growth, learning and leadership opportunities. And ultimately, expanding access to care to those who desperately need in our communities.